Someone misspelled the name of the Vatican’s raison d’etre, Jesus, on a commemorative medallion, striking 6,000 gold, silver and bronze coins with the name Lesus. Several of the medallions were sold before someone noticed the error. The remaining medallions were recalled, making the four that were sold collectors items.

The coins were struck by the Italian Mint to honor the papacy of Francis I and carried a Latin inscription which the Pope said inspired him to join the Catholic priesthood:

I suppose the capital L could be confused with a J if you’re looking in a mirror. But more likely “Jesus” was presented as Iesus, since I was J in ancient texts–remember INRI (Iesus Nazarenus, Rex Iudaeorum) the Latin reading as “Jesus the Nazarene, King of the Jews” — and whoever was doing the inscription for the coin thought I was a lower case L (l) not a J and made a copy-editing decision on their own.

Didn’t anyone who speaks Latin check the proofs? Maybe the devil IS in the details–and the Vatican!